My Thirst for Blood Has Led Me Here
by iKiska
Summary: Remilia has lived a long, full life of 500 years, and wants to begin writing her story. Born as a London aristocrat, she and her sister soon lose everything and have to work their ways up again in the land of Gensokyo.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Remilia Scarlet. I don't know my exact age (living over five hundred years wears on a woman, and I lose track), but I do know that I am a vampire.

I was born many years ago in foggy London. Five years later, my sister Flandre was born. I was named after my aunt Milia, and Flandre was named after the province in Belgium, Flanders. I don't remember much about her birth or those first few years, and for this I apologize, for I know there must be questions of my exact origin.

My mother died of typhoid three years after Flandre was born, and we were all devastated. I wonder sometimes if Flandre realized fully what had happened; now she barely remembers Mother. It is sad, for she was a wonderful, lively woman, but not strong enough to fight the typhoid. It almost took me as well, but I lived on, as did Flandre, obviously. My father came down with a fever soon after, but he left us with our aunt Milia for a few weeks as he traveled to the clean air of France to heal.

Now I'll talk about my aunt Milia. She was a wonderful woman, and took the role of mother after my birthmother passed. Sometimes I wonder if my father fell in love with her with no other person to hold onto. Flandre and I were so young, he must have been lonely.

My father was a tall, robust man with a mustache. He always wore an old bowler hat and the same brown suit. He owned a series of shops and thus we were quite well-off. You could even call us upper class. There was always food on the table and clothes on our back, and once his first shop became successful, our food became richer and our clothes became finer. We were never in want or need of anything.

Soon Milia caught the fever that had been raging in our fine foggy city and died. I was eleven at the time, Flandre, six. This time we were both old enough to realize what had happened and we were as crushed as Father was. Now and then I wonder… would things have turned out the same way if she hadn't have died?

Father took to drinking quickly after Milia died. He was never violent with us, but he was sad and angry, and we often found him unconscious at the dinner table after a night of alcohol. He began to bring home women from the bordello, and Flandre and I became more and more lonely. We were drawn to each other and became each other's only friend. For awhile, we were happy, or as close to happy as we could get.

A new man moved to our street after a few years, and my time came. I was sixteen, a young woman, afraid that the fever would finally take me. Nonetheless I tried to remain positive and I often visited the new man, whose name was Vladimir and who was from a land far away called Transylvania.

Vladimir was a nice man of perhaps twenty-or-so. He became a surrogate father for me, as my own father grew further and further apart from Flandre and I. Flandre often asked to come with me on my visits to Vladimir, but I was fiercely protective of my friendship with him. She never ended up seeing him before he left.

For his last few months in London he and I became very close. Sometimes I think I was in love with him, and I like to fancy he was in love with me, too. Our first kiss was in the dark safety of his parlor, hours after my curfew. I don't remember ever being so happy.

He always said he wanted to be with me forever. One night, he told me of a way we could be together forever. I didn't ask any questions: I just did as I was told, for I would have done anything for Vladimir. He knelt me down before him and bit my neck.

There is some strange ecstasy in becoming a vampire. All you see if color, and it seems as if the world before vampirism was all in black and white in comparison. Things became sharper, more focused, and I felt like I could do anything.

He told me that my transition would be slow, and quite possibly painful, but that he would help me through it. I would need to get out of London quickly, and he told me he would take me away to live with him in Transylvania soon, where we would be married. I couldn't wait, and in my excitement, I made the mistake of telling my sister of our plans.

She told Father.

Father was furious, as any father would be. He told the city lies, that Vladimir had seduced me, threatened me, tried to rape and kill me. No one would listen to my pleas, and one day it became too much and I rushed to Vladimir's mansion in the darkness of midnight, ready to leave right then. I could not find him; instead, I found a note. I still have it, and I will write it down here:

"My dearest Remi -- I must take my leave. As a precaution I won't say where I am in this note, but I believe you will find me. I am sorry I promised so many things that I could not fulfill, but someday when we meet again we will pick up where we left off.

"Please, don't mourn for me. I am still alive and well, just not with you. I write this note not only to tell you this, but to teach you a few tricks.

"As the creature you are now, you will soon be unable to enter the sunlight. Always carry a parasol with you and wear a long dress and long sleeves, just in case. You may already have noticed a thirst for something you have not yet experienced: that is a thirst for blood. I suggest you start small and take from unneeded beggars or animals. Soon you will work up to more and your meals will only taste better.

"Try not to cause trouble, my Remi. Don't cause any more vampires unless they are as willing as you were. Try to be happy, and be positive, and soon we will meet again."

It stops there. I remember crying for hours. Even now I tear up a little to read it.

Father soon died of consumption. I felt angry, defeated, alone. Flandre had finally come down with the fever and I knew I would soon have no one.

"Flan," I asked her one morning. "I have to tell you something, but it's a secret."

"Mmkay," she hummed, moving back and forth on the rocking chair. Ever since Father died, she said little.

"Flan, I'm a vampire," I said bluntly.

She nodded. "Mmkay."

"I'll live forever."

"Neato."

"Flan, do you understand?" I pressed, already frustrated.

"Yes."

"Flan!" I cried, taking her shoulders and shaking her. "I'm immortal! It means I'll never die, no matter what. Please, Flan, listen. You're dying, Flan. I can stop it, but I need your permission to do it. Please, Flan. Without you I really am alone."

She finally looked up at me, her blue eyes dull. Slowly she nodded and I sat back on my ottoman with a sigh.

"Okay, Flan. I need you to listen to me." I waited for an answer and received silence. Heaving an exasperated sigh I took her shoulders again and brought her into a hug. My face already buried into the crook of her neck, I opened my mouth and bit down.

It was my first taste of blood, and it was from an aristocrat like my sister, making the taste rich and dark and wonderful. When I drank all I could (which wasn't much) I backed away, feeling tears emerge in my eyes to see my sister's ghostly pallor.

Flandre, however, looked amazed at what had just happened. Her eyes scanned the room around her, examining her newly-colored surroundings, and as she blinked I saw her deep blue eyes slowly transition into a vicious red. She was a vampire then, just as I was.


	2. Chapter 2

Immediately we made plans to move east. Using the money Father had left us and having found an old map in his bedroom, we made the arrangements to get to Transylvania. I did not tell Flandre what was there, for I did not know for sure, myself. But Vladimir was from that kingdom, and I was almost certain he had returned. If not, we at least had made it away from London, which was good enough for us.

"Remi," Flandre asked one morning upon waking me up. We were still riding across the country in our carriage, and would be crossing the ocean into the mainland later that afternoon.

"What is it, Flan?" I asked tiredly, rubbing my eyes.

"Remi, I'm hungry."

I thought a moment. Whenever I could get out, I found myself an animal or a beggar to feed on. Flandre, having probably received only her first glimpse of blood-thirst, had not done any hunting. Sighing wearily, I poked my head out the window of the carriage and called for our driver to stop on the side of the trail.

"Flan," I said to her once we had stopped. "You stay right here. Don't move, okay? I'm going to get you something to eat." I stepped out of the carriage and smoothed down my dress. Looking up at the sky, I let out a relieved breath: I often forgot I was not to go out in daylight, and fortunately it was just past sunset then. I shot Flandre a last warning glance before setting off into the woods.

It took a little over an hour, but I had finally chased down and caught a baby deer. Panting, I wrung out its neck and began to drag it back towards the carriage. There were many negative things about vampirism, but my newfound speed and strength was not one of them.

About halfway back to the carriage, I heard screaming. A bloodcurdling cry of terror, a shriek of pain that ripped through my ears. It was not Flandre's voice, though, but the carriage driver's. I dropped the baby deer behind and sprinted through the woods towards the source of the noise.

I screamed myself at such a sight. Covering our carriage and the ground around it was blood and bits of flesh and clothing, but otherwise there was no sign of our driver. Sitting primly on the carriage steps was Flandre, delicately nibbling on what looked like an arm.

"FLAN!" I shrieked, slapping the arm away from my sister. "Flan, what -- what! What did you do?!"

Picking the arm back up and dusting it off, Flandre shrugged. "I told him I was hungry, and he just started screaming, and then he went --" She threw her arms, and the arm she was holding, into the air. "-- kaboom!"

Heart pounding, I could only stare at her. She was an eleven year-old girl, and she had caused what was possibly the most gruesome murder anyone I knew had ever heard of. I could not find words for how I felt -- to this day I cannot describe it properly. Either way, I finally managed to speak:

"Flan, how did you do this?" I murmured, taking the arm from her again. She reached for it desperately and I batted her hand away.

"Give me my food and I'll tell you," she whispered darkly, red eyes gleaming.

I returned the glare and bit down into the arm, sucking all the blood I could from it. When I was sure it was dry, I gave a grim smile and dropped it to the ground.

Without warning my generally-docile sister snapped and I found myself pinned onto the ground. I fought against her but she was far stronger than me, and she began to punch and pummel me, screaming incoherently. All this time I was shrieking her name, trying to catch her fists, but she didn't seem to hear me. Finally she seemed to get tired and she gave my cheek a final scratch before sitting back on my hips, panting.

We stared at each other silently a moment before we simultaneously began to cry. She fell back down onto me and threw her arms around my shoulders, sobbing that she was sorry and that she loved me. I couldn't speak through tears and just allowed her to hold me. Finally we both calmed down and just laid there on the bloodied, dirt ground, both of us breathing heavily.

"You two okay?" came a sudden voice.

Immediately I threw Flandre off of me and stood up, brushing the blood and mud from my dress. I curtsied to them, though I shouldn't have: an aristocrat like myself should never bow to something as lowly as a scraggly traveler.

"Yes, sir, we're fine," I said quickly.

Flandre stood beside me and curtsied as well. "Very fine, sir," she said softly.

"Good show, you two," said another of the three men. "I've never seen such a fight by two beautiful girls."

I stared at him, frozen. These weren't travelers, but highwaymen. I glanced down at Flandre, who looked on at the men as if they were food. And, well, they were food to us.

The apparent leader of the group stepped forward. I stepped back. In turn he laughed and held out a hand, and though I hissed at her not to, Flandre approached him and curtsied again politely. The highwayman placed a kind hand on her shoulder and ushered her over to his two friends. I could only stare at them, appalled that my baby sister would allow strange men to pet her and coo at her as if she were a little bird.

"I'm hungry," I heard Flandre say to them, and they laughed and offered her some food. I barely heard them: my eyes trained themselves on the leader, who came closer to me with every passing second.

"Where are your parents?" he asked, still advancing on me.

I said nothing, but just stared up at him.

"They not around?" he questioned further.

Wanting to scare him off, I silently turned my head down towards the dismembered arm Flandre had been eating. The man followed my gaze and let out a loud curse, which fortunately stopped his friends from petting my naively-compliant sister.

"What --" he began, visibly shaken. "What -- Where -- where is the rest of him? Who did this to him?" He looked up at me through wide eyes. "A -- a bear?"

Without a word I lifted a hand and pointed at Flandre, who beamed up at them innocently.

Suddenly the highwaymen laughed, and the leader said, "Why, they're just playing with us. I guess a bear came along and ate their parents. Well," he said, advancing on me further. "I guess we'll have to take 'em under our wing. Shall we, boys?"

Suddenly he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his chest before ripping apart the buttons that held my dress together. I was so scared I don't remember what my sister was doing, but I remember hearing her scream my name over and over and beg them to let me go. I had completely forgotten my strength as a vampire and was quickly forced onto the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut and just laid there, frozen.

Then I remember the screaming -- not only from Flandre, but from the other two men as well. I opened my eyes again when I realized I was no longer being held down and saw my baby sister biting, scratching, kicking these men three times bigger than her. With the two lower men on the ground, she turned her attention to the leading man who had hurt me.

Her chest heaving, she held up one hand and whispered something before closing it into a fist. I think I must have fainted at this point, for the next thing I remember is waking up back in the carriage with one of Aunt Milia's old blankets over me. Flandre stood before me, covered in blood, and smoothed the hair from my forehead.

I tried to sit up, but she pushed me back down. "We need to get going, Flan," I whispered, still shaky from the entire experience.

Smiling weakly, she murmured, "I killed them, Remi. They're gone now. But -- but -- I don't want you to go out until you know what you'll see."

Immediately I pushed her away and opened the door to the carriage before stepping out into a puddle of blood. Everywhere was blood and flesh and ripped-up clothes, and I was both terrified and grateful at the same time. My baby sister had obliterated them.

Flandre stepped beside me. "I asked the big one if he would take us to the ocean, but he tried to run."

I only nodded, unable to speak.

"Where are we going next?" Flandre asked, tugging at the hem of my dress.

"You were right," I told her, still staring out at the gruesome view. "We are going to the ocean."

"What's there?"

"A ship. It'll take us to the mainland. We -- we need to meet someone in a place called Transylvania."

"Are you going to find your fiancé?"

I nodded again, before stepping up to the driver's seat and taking up the horse's reins. "C'mon, Flan. We need to move before morning comes." My sister came to sit beside me and we curled up in Milia's blanket before setting off.


	3. Chapter 3

_**We reached the ocean in three days (or nights, rather). I don't know what it was -- fate, perhaps -- that compelled me to rent a small house before doing anything else, but I quickly found ourselves a little shack next to the ocean. It was nothing compared to our old, wonderful, big house at home, but it was something.**_

_**I remembered of an old family friend living around where we were, and I sought her out immediately. She was an old woman named Yvonne, who was well trusted by everyone in the small village and who was fortunately willing to live with us until it was time for us to leave. She became somewhat of a grandmother for us, as well as a source of food while she slept. Of course I wouldn't let Flandre anywhere near her, as she would drain poor Yvonne out in minutes, but as a light eater I could always drink without killing and without waking her up. When I finished I always went out to find livestock for my sister.**_

_**One afternoon Yvonne woke me from my slumber with a letter in hand. I kept this letter as well, and will write it down here:**_

"_**My dearest Remi --"**_

_**I remember how my heart pounded at these words.**_

"_**I heard the rumor that the wealthy Scarlet clan has broken up, and that its two daughters are missing. I sent my smartest messenger to find you and deliver this letter. I am fine, and I desperately hope you and your sister are as well.**_

"_**Enclosed are two tickets for the next ship headed for the mainland. It will leave you in France, and from there, I hope you will travel north to where I am. I will send more letters if possible. I trust that you will find your way without me having to disclose my true location in something as untrustworthy as a letter. Forever yours, Vladimir."**_

_**I woke Flandre and we made plans to leave immediately after paying Yvonne for everything she had done for us.**_

_**The next chapter of my life was what I called my 'transition.' Every vampire experiences one early on in their new lives, and Flandre and I were no different. Unfortunately it happened in the middle of our two-day journey to France. **_

_**Once in the wee hours of morning on our trip I came into our cabin, happily filled with fresh blood from the captain, and a little from his whore to see what she would taste like (she tasted cheap -- I assume the same way a cheap wine would taste). I returned with a glass bottle of extra blood for my sister so she wouldn't starve to death, as she still wasn't stealthy enough to hunt on her own.**_

_**I laid down on my cot, mulling everything over, when I felt a sharp pain in the small of my back. Thinking nothing of it, I turned onto my side and tried to take a small nap.**_

_**I woke up perhaps an hour or so later, the pain having returned. I asked Flandre if she had any blood left in the bottle: of course she didn't, and it was then morning and I could not go out and feed again until the next evening. I tried to lay down on my back and cried out in pain, and upon reaching to feel what I had landed on, I found two growths coming from my lower back. I screamed in pain and surprise: I was growing wings.**_

_**At first I was excited, though it hurt terribly, but then it just became a nuisance. One might not think it would hurt so, but think about it: think about your body rapidly growing new bone, which of course has to push its way through your skin, and then develop muscle, skin, tendon -- all within a matter of days, or even hours, in my case. To put it how Sakuya would today: it hurts like a bitch.**_

_**Flandre was terrified, not knowing what was happening to her big sister. I tried to explain but she would not listen, and against my screaming at her not to, she rushed out of the cabin and into the rest of the boat, shrieking that I was dying.**_

_**I heard cries of annoyance, and then of fear from the other passengers of the ship. Footsteps rushed towards my room and I forced myself up to hold the door shut: there was no way I would let them see what was growing out of me, for they would kill me immediately, and probably Flandre by association. My strength was far greater than even the best sailor on there, and no one could enter.**_

_**Above all I could hear Flandre screeching my name, telling me to open up. I wanted to tell her it was okay, but then they would know it was I who held the door shut. The screams escalated by all, and I thought my eardrums would all but burst when suddenly, silence.**_

_**At first I didn't realize that no one was screaming anymore. All I heard was a faint crying, and when I figured out it was my sister, I finally opened the door.**_

_**There was blood everywhere. Flandre had killed everyone. To this day I don't know if it was an accident or if she did it thinking they weren't trying hard enough to help me.**_

"_**Flan, get in here," I whispered, coming to help her up and out of the carnage. "I'm okay, Flan. It doesn't hurt much anymore." In truth I don't remember such agony, but as a big sister I had to hide it from her.**_

_**She threw her arms around me and sobbed, "Oh Remi," over and over again. Suddenly I felt her grab at me… well at the time I didn't know it was me. I felt it, but it was in a place that had never been before: my wing. Flandre backed out of the hug and gazed at me through wide, questioning eyes.**_

"_**They're wings, Flan," I whispered. Glancing back into our cabin I realized we had no mirror, and so we walked around downstairs until we found a room nice enough to have one. It's a misconception that vampires cannot look into mirrors: in truth we don't want to see how pale our skin is and how red our eyes are, but we can definitely see ourselves. I sat Flandre onto the rich person's empty bed and fronted the mirror.**_

_**My wings were small, and hard to move at first. It took hours before I could finally float a few inches above the ground. Flandre cheered me on the whole time, now and then leaving to take up a snack from the dozens of corpses we had left to rot in the hall.**_

_**Upon exploring, we found that it was the entire population of the ship that Flandre had destroyed. We were alone, and for days we lived off the corpses while the ship floated aimlessly in the sea between England and France.**_

_**Soon Flandre's wings came in, and either hers hurt less or she was a great taker of pain, for she screamed little during the hours they took to grow. By then I felt adept at flying and could glide back and forth through all the halls in the ship: all we needed to do was wait for Flandre to learn, and then we could fly the rest the way to France. We still had plenty of gold from our father's will left, and I promised Flandre we would spend a few days in Paris if it wasn't too far out of our way.**_

_**As it turned out, we were very far south of Paris and I had to break my promise to my sister. She didn't speak to me for hours until I brought her a beggar I had accidentally killed.**_

_**We shied away from big cities, walking only through smaller villages. Our map said now and then that the next city would be several days away and we lured beggars along through forests until our hunger was great, and then Flandre killed them for us. This lasted us until the next village every time, where we would lure more beggars to follow us with promises of money, food, and women.**_

_**One day one of our beggars stopped us, pointing off into the horizon.**_

"_**It's just fog," I said, shrugging as I walked further.**_

"_**It's the deadly fog," another beggar informed us.**_

_**Flandre and I were vampires, and thus had little to fear. We kept walking, but the beggars stayed behind. Finally I sighed at the disobedience of our food and asked, "It's just fog -- why be afraid of some old myth?"**_

"_**It's been moving across country for weeks," said one of the men.**_

"_**Everyone who goes into it disappears for good," said another.**_

_**Disappearing? Whatever disappears must go somewhere, and I was willing to take the risk. I told Flandre to kill them and bottle the blood to last a few days, and once this was done, we strolled into the thick, white mist.**_

_**Flandre and I walked for miles through the mist. What disconcerted us is that we had been in the middle of a forest, and now in the mist, we could find no trees around us. But we kept walking though we knew we were lost, just hoping that soon the mist would subside.**_

_**Without warning Flandre, who had been walking ahead of me, bumped into something and cried out in surprise. Upon inspection it turned out we had found a great, stone wall. Our map did not show such a wall, so we curiously explored it. After much debate we decided to walk along it to the right rather than the left, and after several hours (and having run out of blood -- thank you, Flan), we found a tall, ornate gate leading to the other side of the wall.**_

"_**What do you think you're doing?" called a sudden voice.**_

_**Flandre and I turned to meet a tall girl with red hair, dressed in all green. She took on a fighting pose and shouted to us, "There's been a burst of humans crossing this wall and I'm sick and tired of it. So you'd best go home or die by my hand."**_

_**Flandre giggled at the display and I rolled my eyes. "Kill her, Flan."**_

_**My sister raised a hand, but I suddenly stopped her. "Wait. Blow a hole in the wall instead. I want to her to see how strong we are before we kill her."**_

_**The woman laughed loudly. "You, blow a hole through the wall? This wall is sealed with some powerful shit. And you're just a couple of kids! I'd like to see you try, though. Go on, then! Blow away this wall!"**_

_**Flandre faced the wall and smiled up at me sweetly before returning her gaze to the stone wall. She raised her hand again and slowly closed it into a fist, whispering, "Kyuuu!"**_

_**At her gibberish a portion of the wall slowly began to crumble, and a little more, and more still, until several of the stones all but disintegrated until there was a lovely hole for us to get through. The woman stared at us, mouth agape, and Flan gave her a polite little wave as we ambled through the opening.**_


	4. Chapter 4

On the other side of the gate we found ourselves at the top of a green, grassy hill. There was not a cloud in the beautiful midnight sky, and the air smelled of flowers. It was beautiful, and we knew we would never want to leave, which was lucky as when we turned around again, we saw to our surprise that the hole we had crawled through was gone. It was as if it had never been there. We took this in stride and headed down the hill.

At the base of the hill was a beautiful, quaint little village: perfect for a midnight snack. As I said we had run out of blood ages ago, and we were both wracked with headaches from our hunger. We found a house nearest to us, door opened to let in the cool air, when suddenly --

"Hey!"

Flandre and I squealed at the sudden noise and whirled around. I half-expected the gatekeeper to be behind us, but this time it was a white-haired woman dressed in a blue dress. Her hands clenched into fists and she sprinted towards us, pinning us both to the ground in one fell swoop.

"What are you people doing here?" she hissed, glaring knives at us.

Flandre held up a hand to obliterate her, but I stopped her, not wanting to cause trouble in our hunger-weakness.

"Hmm," the woman hummed. "You two definitely aren't human. What are you? Why are you here?"

"We came through the gate," I said simply, weakly pointing a finger towards the hill we had just come down.

Backing off of us and standing up, the woman let out a low curse. "Damn it, that Hong! She must have been taking a nap again. I could kill her if she weren't a youkai!"

Suddenly feeling safe, I stood and helped up my sister. "We're vampires," I whispered softly. "We were hungry. Please, let us go. We'll find a deer or something. We're weak right now -- we haven't eaten in hours. Please."

I looked down at my sister, and she smiled brightly. "Please!"

Sighing, the woman shook her head. "There's a farm nearby with cattle. Please don't hurt any of these humans -- I own this village and I can't let them come to harm. Follow me." Without another word, she spun on her heels and walked off. We quietly followed.

"What's your name?" Flandre asked politely, skipping along the path.

"Keine," she said curtly. "And you?"

"I'm Flandre!" my sister cried, skipping higher.

"Remilia," I answered, looking around the village. "So you own this village?"

"I do," Keine replied. "I am also the schoolteacher for all the human children. But lately there has been such a boom in newcomers thanks to our new, lazy gatekeeper that it's been hard to keep up."

We walked on in silence for a long time, before I burst: "Does a man named Vladimir live anywhere around here?"

She whirled around and shot me a glare. "Vladimir?"

Surprised by the sudden change of tune, I nodded quietly.

Giving a small 'humph,' Keine turned again and led us on. "He was a vampire too, as I'm sure you're aware if you're looking for him. He became such a nuisance that we sealed him away on his own island. He can't get out, and as for getting in, well, I don't know why you'd want to."

"Please," I said quickly. "Please, take us to that island. I need to see him. He left months ago, and -- and -- Please, I need to see him."

Heaving a great sigh, Keine muttered grudgingly, "I can't leave the village for long, but I'll point you in the right direction." Raising a hand and pointing her finger, she said, "Head due west and turn take the right road when it forks in two. Follow the trail until the forest ends and you'll hit the edge of the lake." Casting us a grim smile, she continued, "You're vampires, and though you hide your wings, I know they're there. You'll be able to fly across."

"Will we be able to make it by morning?" I asked, looking up at the moonlit sky.

"It'll cut it close, but if you hurry, there won't be a problem. Perhaps you should just fly the whole way to be quicker -- going through the forest might disrupt the youkai living in it."

We bade our farewells and watched as Keine floated back towards the human village. Without further ado, Flandre and I kicked off the ground and into the sky.

It was a quick flight over the vast lake. As soon as we made it above the trees of the forest we could see Vladimir's mansion on the island off to the distance, and we headed straight towards it. In minutes we were on his doorstep.

My heart pounded almost out of my chest as I shakily held up a hand to knock on the enormous wooden door. I must have hesitated a mite long, for Flandre, without warning, blew the door open. I silently cursed her but nonetheless it was an entrance, and we quietly slipped inside.


	5. Chapter 5

I admit I was disappointed with what I saw. Vladimir's mansion back in London was gorgeous, with ornate rugs and dark wood furniture. This place was decrepit to say the least. Pieces of carpet were rotted away and there were cobwebs covering almost everything. Flandre held onto my arm as we walked further into the darkness our eyes were so accustomed to.

"Who's there?" called a familiar voice. My heart throbbed harder to hear it. We heard footsteps tripping down the stairway before us, and then, "I'm not bothering anyone. Why won't you awful souls leave me alone?"

I began crying to see him, his black hair grayed and dressed all in rags. He all but fell down the last few stairs, walking with a cane, but stopped dead to see who his visitors were.

"Remi," he breathed, staring at me through wide eyes. "Remi..!"

Leaving my sister behind in the foyer, I ran to Vladimir and threw my arms around his waist, crying uncontrollably how I missed him and loved him. He said nothing, but tentatively put his arms around my shoulders, as if half-expecting me to disappear.

"My Remi," he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "It has been years."

"Years?" I asked, looking up at him.

He chuckled: "Excuse me, I get ahead of myself. Tell me: do you know where you are?"

Flandre and I shook our heads no.

Smiling warmly, Vladimir explained, "You are in a land called Gensokyo. I found this place on accident many, many years ago, and built this mansion up from nothing. I left my servants and my wealth behind to explore the world, and soon met you, Remi.

"When I was driven from London, I returned here, but was met with a problem. See, my Remi, time works differently here. I had only been gone a year or so, but in Gensokyo, it had been almost a decade. All of my servants and workers had either died or left, and I had no one."

"The white-hair lady said you were sealed here," Flandre offered, coming up to stand beside me.

"Ah, Keine," he laughed, eyes far away. "I remember her. Shortly after I returned I feasted on several humans, as my journey here had left me half-starved. Keine, who as you probably know is owner of the human village, easily defeated me. When I woke up I was back here in my mansion, and she had left me a note saying I would never leave here again. She was right: I cannot leave, and thus, I have been starving."

"W-we'll bring you some humans!" I cried through tears. "Beggars or something. Flan and I, we're good at luring beggars out into the wilderness. We did it to get by."

Chuckling, he shook his head. "Don't, Remi. I'm afraid I'm beyond help. I'm dying, Remi. I've known it for months."

"But won't blood help?" my sister asked, shrugging.

"There is a point where blood would help and, alas, I am far past it." Kissing my forehead, he murmured, "There is a vault behind the master bedroom. In it is what remains of my fortune -- when I die, I want you to take it and rebuild a life here."

I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled him back into a hug and just sobbed, only barely feeling Flandre come into the hug as well. I heard her whispering that a new life could be fun, and I remember how badly I wanted to beat her for saying such a thing. Fun? A life without Vladimir? At the time I could not fathom it. Vladimir shook me from my thoughts and took Flandre and I to our new bedrooms upstairs, where we soon drifted off to sleep.

We stayed with him for many weeks, leaving the island nightly to find animals to drink from on the mainland. We knew better than to cause trouble and find a human. Before we left my Vladimir would tell me not to worry about him, but every time I still brought him back a few small rabbits or now and then, a baby deer. But every time I presented to him a freshly-killed animal, he would decline: he was far past help.

One afternoon Vladimir retired to his master bedroom for a small nap, and hours later he was still there. I picked the lock to his room and tiptoed in, wanting to wake him up to ask once again if he wanted me to find him something to eat. I shook his shoulders but he did not wake, so sighing, I decided to leave after kissing his forehead. I stopped as my lips touched his skin: he was freezing cold.

I lit the lantern beside his bed and gasped to see what a ghostly pallor his skin had taken -- he was even whiter than he had been before as a vampire. He was cold, his skin was white… almost bursting into tears right there, I shook him again and started crying his name.

Flandre rushed upstairs to where we were, crying if only because I was. "Remi!" she called through my cries. "Remi!" She took my arm and shook me, pulling me away from Vladimir's corpse. "Remi -- Re --" My sister began to cry harder. I don't know to this day if she fully understood what had happened, except that her big sister was crying and that she was scared.

"Flan!" I shrieked, throwing her off of me and going to shake Vladimir's shoulders again. "Flan, go away! Get someone! No -- no, stay here, it's daylight out! But -- but -- Flan, he's dead!" As if suddenly realizing it myself, I fell away from his body and leaned against the wall, all but hyperventilating. "He's dead, Flan! He's dead!!"

"That's all?" she asked, moving to poke at Vladimir's dead body. I shot forward and pulled her away.

"Th-that's all?" I repeated, dumbstruck. My fiancé was dead -- dead! And all my sister could say was, 'That's all?' I slapped her hard and she began crying again, but I didn't care. Vladimir was dead.

In return my sister punched me hard in the stomach, and in pain in grief I doubled over and vomited. Looking incredibly sorry all of a sudden, Flandre cleaned up my sick and ushered me into our bedroom to lay down. But I couldn't sleep. I wouldn't sleep. Vladimir was dead.

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	6. Chapter 6

Flandre woke me hours later, asking if she could eat him. I slapped her again for such a question, explaining that he needed a proper burial. Sighing heavily, my sister's shoulders slumped and she exited our room again. I heard her footsteps stomp down the stairs and cursed softly, closing my eyes again. All I could do was sleep, as it turned out, if I could get past the nightmares.

When I opened my eyes again Flandre was standing before me, crying silently, her bloodstained mouth pouted. Wearily I asked, "Did you go out and eat? What did you bring back?"

She said nothing, but kept crying.

I sat up and raised a hand to slap her, mostly just to scare her, and she cowered and said immediately, "I was hungry, Remi."

My heart all but stopping, I whispered, almost inaudibly, "So…what did you eat?"

Taking a step back and covering her face, she sobbed, "I ate him!"

My breath caught in my throat and I stared at her, horrified. I had no words. I didn't know what to think, or what to do. I leapt out of bed and tackled her to the floor, scratching her and slapping her through her crying.

"Why would you do that?!" I shrieked, taking her hands away from her face and hitting her again. "Why?! I told you -- I told you, Flandre Renee Scarlet, not to touch him! I-I -- I told you!!"

"I'm sorry!" she screeched, shivering underneath me. "Remi I was hungry, and -- and -- and I didn't want to wake you up or go out on my own and -- Remi, I couldn't help it!"

"What do you mean you couldn't help it?!" I screamed, taking her shoulders and shaking her. "What, you're saying you blacked out and woke up full and happy and covered in his BLOOD?"

"YES!" Flandre wept pitifully, her right eye swollen and blood trickling from her nose. She stopped fighting against me and just cried, whispering, "I took a nap on the sofa downstairs and when I woke up, I was in his room and -- and -- Remi, please let me clean it up for you. I don't want you to see what I did."

Without wasting a moment I was up off of her and down the hall. Vladimir's door was open and I took a sharp right into his room before stopping dead, eyes wide and staring at my surroundings.

My sister had dismembered him completely. One of his sucked-dry arms was mere inches from my feet, the other one laying across the room. His legs were settled on the dresser's top, flesh hanging off of them, but otherwise dry of blood. His torso was completely obliterated, with organs spewed onto the floor around it. The only thing that was left untouched was his head, which still laid on his pillow.

Flandre came up beside me. "I thought you might want his head," she offered quietly.

I whirled around to hit her again, but held myself back. Her face and neck were covered with bleeding cuts and bruises, and I found myself too weak to hurt her further. Flandre must have known I wasn't going to hurt her, for she didn't even flinch. Instead she took a step forward and hugged me.

"I didn't mean it, Remi," she whispered, eyes wet.

Despite myself I hugged her back, if only because I needed to be held. "What time is it?" I asked, though I answered my own question by looking at a nearby grandfather clock. It was eleven at night. I backed out of the hug and said monotonously, "Let's bury what's left of him."

I found a shovel in the basement and told Flandre to gather his limbs and head. We met again outside in the garden and I dug a deep, round hole among the withered rose bushes. Vladimir loved roses. After a long and tearful (on my part) sermon, I sprinkled the dirt back over into the grave, along with some dandelions Flandre had found, and we retired back into the mansion.


	7. Chapter 7

It was only days before word got out that the infamous vampire Vladimir had passed. Almost immediately our little island was swamped with 'visitors.'

By visitors I of course mean thieves and looters and God-only-knew what else. They were vanquished easily by my sister and I, and we feasted almost every week. The first notable occurrence came about a year after Vladimir died --

"I am Cirno, the strongest fairy there is!" called a voice one evening.

Having already been out on the patio, I looked up from my book and around for the source of the noise. I called for my sister and we set out in search for the fool who dared challenge us, before finally finding a young girl of perhaps thirteen in a blue-and-white dress playing out in the garden.

"Who are you?" I asked, stopping Flandre from immediately killing her.

"Cirno, I said!" the ice fairy cried, freezing some more of our newly-growing flowers. I slapped her hand away and she said indignantly, "Hey! I wasn't bothering you none."

"That is Vladimir's grave you're frolicking over," I said threateningly, coming closer.

Cirno backed away and waved a hand dismissively. "Well tell him I'm sorry. I'm looking for frogs! Do you has any frogs?"

"I have no frogs, but you, do you have any sense?" I retorted, seconds away from feasting on her. I admit I had never eaten a fairy before.

"Cents? I have a few bronze pieces I guess. Will that do?" She reached into her pocket and I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"Sense!" I repeated, already frustrated. "Sense as in -- in -- Do you know who you're dealing with, little girl?"

She shrugged, but said nothing.

Flandre piped in, "You're dealing with the strongest, prettiest vampires in Gensokyo! Prepare to go kaboom!" She held out a hand to kill the fairy, but I stopped her again.

"We have just eaten, so I will give you a minute to get out of here," I warned Cirno, who laughed.

"I am the strongest!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air. "I have many friends! Daiyousei!" she suddenly screeched, turning. "Dai! Get everyone up here!"

On cue, a green-haired fairy rose up seemingly from nowhere, and seconds after came what seemed like hundreds of other fairies. Flandre ran immediately out to them, probably to 'play,' but I stared curiously at the sight. I had never seen a fairy before that night, and now I was faced with hundreds of them. We had just had dinner an hour or so earlier, but I was willing to take some dessert. Fairy blood just had to be sweet.

Quickly my sister and I had killed or scared away about half of the fairies, and Cirno called for the carnage to stop. I sent Flandre inside with her spoils to eat, but stayed outside myself to make a deal with Cirno and her followers.

"I can't believe you did that," Cirno muttered, sitting down before me on the patio. Daiyousei had gone to tend to the wounded. "Seriously, we was just playing!"

"So were we," I returned, sipping my tea. "We play a bit rougher than other people do, I suppose."

Wrinkling her nose, Cirno said, "You're mean." She stood to leave, but I stood as well and she stopped in her tracks.

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement," I started, holding out a hand. Cirno flinched at my movement, and I rolled my eyes.

"What kind of agreement?" she soon asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"The kind that benefits both of us."

"Benefit?"

"It means it'll work well for both of us," I sighed, but then continued, "Flandre and I will spare you, Daiyousei, and the rest of your friends… if..!"

"If what?" she interrupted me, rather rudely, if I do say so myself.

"If," I restarted. "You, Daiyousei, and all of the other fairies you have at your command work for me."

"Doing what?" she asked, looking surprised at the offer. "Will I get frogs to play with?"

"As many frogs as you can find on and around this island, yes," I answered, chuckling. "You and Daiyousei are to guard this island. The rest of your fairies are to work as servants for my sister and I. Is this clear?"

"What do we get in return?" Cirno asked warily, crossing her arms.

Giving a grim smile, I said, "Your lives."

I had acquired my first followers. Cirno and Daiyousei were not very smart, but they did keep the equally-stupid thieves and looters off my island. As for the other fairies, I had found several of them who were adept at sewing and sent them to the human village to fit all of my new servants into maid's outfits. A mansion's got to have maid-looking maids, hasn't it? I will not have my servants dressed in rags.

Previously Flandre and I had, in fact, been dressed in rags. We could remedy this now that we had servants who were able to walk in daylight. I sent one of the smarter fairies (which was a rare find) out to the human village again, after taking me and my sister's measurements, to buy some clothes for us. Nothing fancy, I told her, but nothing cheap, either. She returned with beautiful pink-and-red dresses for me, and some red playclothes for my baby sister.

Using the fortune Vladimir had willed to us, we filled the mansion with new, shiny mahogany furniture and thick, red glass to go into every broken window. We started up the tall clock tower again to let the world know what time it was, and we filled the biggest room in the place with books upon books for me, and later Patchouli, to read. Everything was wonderful, until a few months later when --

"I am Hong Meiling, former gatekeeper of the human village!"

"What now?" I muttered, going to my red stained-glass window and looking outside. Down on the path leading to my front door was a tall, redheaded girl in green, kicking and punching aimlessly into the empty air around her. At the time she meant nothing to me, but once I got a good look at her, I remembered that she was the one who tried to keep Flandre and I out of Gensokyo so long ago. I dressed out of my nightclothes and hurried downstairs.

I had a fairy servant open the front door but stayed far away from it in the shadows of my home, not wanting the noontime sun to hit me. Hong, later nicknamed as China, was still practicing her martial arts, kicking and generally missing the couple of fairies who had come to apprehend her.

"Who are you?" I called from inside, vaguely hoping she would remember me.

"My name is Hong Meiling!" she shouted, hands on her hips. "I have been sent her by Keine, half-beast eater of history, to vanquish you! And -- hey, come out here where I can see you!"

"Can't," I called, shrugging. "I'm afraid the sun doesn't treat me well. Why don't you come inside? We'll make you some tea."

After spending a few moments thinking, Hong shrugged and walked inside.

We sat her down in the long dining room table, her at one end and me at the other. I ordered a nearby maid to serve us some tea (candied blood for me, and jasmine for her), and once we were settled, I opened my mouth to speak.

She cut me off immediately: "Hey, aren't you that one girl? You know, the girl, and you had a sister, and --" Eyes wide, she suddenly stood up and backed away. "I remember you! You broke my wall! Hey, hey, I don't want any trouble -- I didn't know it was you I was after. C'mon, let me leave? I'll tell Keine I killed you or something, okay? I don't want any trouble. I'm just a little Chinese girl -- didn't do nothing to nobody!"

"Sit down," I ordered, stirring some sugar into my tea. "You must be thirsty after traveling through the forest and across that big lake we have. Take a seat and enjoy the tea I had made for you."

At a loss, Hong sat down and took an experimental sip of the tea, as if expecting it to be poisoned. When she realized it tasted fine, she gulped the rest of it down and asked for more.

When my maids accommodated her again, I began, "I see Cirno and Daiyousei did nothing to keep you out."

She shrugged, drinking more jasmine tea. "They were tough, but no cigar. There was also some girl called Rumia with them -- her manipulation of darkness was shit."

Rumia? The name sounded familiar, but to this day I have not met her personally. I now know her to be a friend of Cirno's and Daiyousei's, who had been recruited to help guard the mansion with them.

I nodded, pretending to know who Rumia was. "Ah, yes, she's not very strong, is she? But she and the fairies are all I have to guard this lovely estate."

"Where's your sister, anyway? Is she going to 'kyu' me? 'Cause seriously, I'll leave and never come back if you want me to --"

"No," I cut in. "As for Flandre, she is currently playing in the basement, probably destroying that calf I had one of the maids bring in for her. Neither of us are starved at the moment, so you needn't worry -- that is, if you're willing to cooperate."

"Starved?" she repeated, staring at me.

"Oh yes. We're vampires, you see. Didn't Keine tell you this?" I smiled a little, wanting to gain her trust. "It sounds as if you've been sent on a death mission."

This caused Hong to think a moment, and she soon nodded. "It does, doesn't it?"

"Well, I wouldn't bother with her," I said, shrugging before sipping more tea. "Instead, why don't you live here? We've got a lovely servant's quarters -- none of my servants are in need of anything." I turned to a nearby maid: "Don't you agree?"

The maid quickly nodded -- I don't know if she was afraid of defying me or if she honestly liked working for me, but she nodded and that was what I needed.

Apparently I wanted to be assured that the maids did like working for me, so I continued, "Tell Hong what you like about living here."

Looking surprised to be told to speak, the maid softly said, "We are given nice clothes to wear and good food to eat. I am friends with everyone here and we all get along."

"Doesn't that sound nice?" I asked Hong, smiling widely.

"Yeah, but…" Hong looked wary suddenly, as if scared to go against me. "I don't want to be no maid. I came here to fight, and -- and I'd like to fight still if possible. B-but not you! And not your sister! Maybe -- intruders?"

After a moment of thought, I nodded. "This sounds doable. Will you be our gatekeeper? You saw the tall, long wall surrounding this place, and the iron gate in it, but you were easily able to get over it, I notice. You can guard the gate and fight anyone who tries to get through."

Looking pleased, Hong stood up and punched the air before her, crying, "Sounds good! What's my pay? What are my hours? Can I have something to eat?"

"I will arrange for a small house to be built outside the gate -- that will be your house. While it is being built you can live in the servant's quarters. As for food, if my sister left anything behind, we will have veal for lunch."

Hong gave a happy battle cry and I sent for two maids to lead her to her temporary quarters.


	8. Chapter 8

I now had Cirno, Daiyousei, Rumia, Hong Meiling, and about a hundred fairies to do my bidding. After receiving a minor burn from sticking her hand out the window and letting sunlight touch it, Flandre spent most of her days in the basement, playing with whatever the maids brought her, while I lived mostly in my room, reading and sipping tea. Several more years passed, any intruders being easily taken care of by Hong, if not by the other girls, and we were all happy.

I awoke once in the wee hours of the afternoon to hear footsteps outside my door. Thinking nothing of it, I rolled over onto my back and shut my eyes again, letting out a breath. I vaguely remember hearing my door open, but I think I was too sleepy to care about it. It had been a long night before I had gone to bed, and I had feasted on another intruder brought in by Hong. Half-awake, I thought about the previous evening when suddenly I heard the floor creak.

I shut my eyes tighter, feigning sleep, and listened intently until I heard a soft breathing, slowly nearing me. I waited for it to get just close enough, one eye ever-so-slightly open, when I saw the glimmer of a knife. Without waiting for an invitation, I threw away my blanket, fortunately covering and confusing the intruder, and, without anything better, grabbed my pillow. While the intruder was still trying to remove the blanket, I tackled them and covered their face with my pillow.

In my sleepy half-daze I was easily thrown off, and the intruder finally got rid of the blanket. This was the first time I saw one of my future best friends.

She had dark blue eyes and silvery hair, and wore a black top and trousers. At her hips and ankles were tied knives, and she held three in each hand.

I jumped to my feet, pillow still in hand, and hissed, "Who are you? Why do you bother me? I'll kill you if I have to."

The woman's mouth twisted into a smile and she reached into her pocket, withdrawing a small, golden pocket watch. Her thumb flipped it open and just at that moment she disappeared into thin air, reappearing seconds later behind me. She grabbed my arm with one hand and held a knife to my neck with the other, whispering into my ear, "I'm a vampire hunter."

The smell of old blood wafted from her knife into my nose, and I coughed a little, hungry. Knowing that her knife was silver and could actually kill me, I could not move. But she did not move either. Taking a chance, I unfurled my wings and used them to push her away from me, fortunately making her drop her knife.

I took up the fallen knife and leapt into the air, flying towards the high ceiling where I would be out of her reach. I had bad aim and I knew it, but nonetheless I tried throwing the knife down at her, hoping I would make a killing shot.

I didn't. She dodged the knife easily and threw it back up at me, but I was able to dodge it as well with my good speed. Laughing weakly, I reassured myself that I was faster than her and stronger than her, and that I could kill her easily. But she was no easy kill, and repeatedly disappeared and reappeared in different placed, continually dodging my attacks.

Several maids had woken up and come to try and help, but I shouted at them to stay back. This hunter had come for me, had tried to kill me… she was my responsibility, and I would take care of her, myself.

Quickly I realized what the source of her power was: the pocket watch. Before she disappeared she took out the watch and flipped it open, always smiling grimly up at me. I grabbed a fallen knife from the ground and flew back up towards the ceiling. I had only one chance at this, and I swore I would make it. I pulled my hand back and threw the knife down at her: it struck its target perfectly, knocking the watch from her hand. I dove down, tackling her and kicking the pocket watch across the room, and panted heavily with fatigue.

"Who sent you?" I gasped, gripping her wrists to the ground.

She glared up at me, saying nothing, and I scratched her cheek hard and repeated my question.

"No one," she answered, still glaring furiously. "I heard of this dictatorship you've got going on in this mansion, and I wanted to stop it."

"My people are happy," I replied, my heart rate finally slowing to rest. "Ask any of them. I make sure they are happy and willing to serve me. They have known no better life."

"That's a lie!" she spat viciously, and I laughed.

"You go on thinking that! But I've bested you, so you have two choices: life or death."

"Death," she said immediately.

I hesitated. Never before had I seen someone so strong in their beliefs that they would die for them. I honestly was torn between killing her and letting her live, but quickly I came to a decision.

"You're new name is Sakuya," I said with finality.

Looking surprised, she cocked an eyebrow and said, "Why do you say this? You can't just give me a new name. My name is --"

"Sakuya," I finished for her. "I have the power to change fates. I can't use it often, but I feel I am able to at this moment. Your new name is Sakuya Izayoi, and you will be my head maid."

Either my powers were working or she had admitted defeat, but she suddenly smiled sadly and said, "What are my duties?"

"You will cook for the other servants -- the current cook is terrible. You will bring me tea and feed my sister. You will help clean and keep every room tidy. Furthermore, you will protect me with your life."

"My, that's a lot to ask for," Sakuya chuckled, sitting up when I finally let her go. "May I have my watch back?"

For some unknown reason I trusted her, and I handed back her pocket watch. "You can disappear with this," I noted, smiling.

"Not exactly," she replied, tucking it away into her pocket. "I manipulate time with it. I can stop time and move across a room before restarting it, and it seems to others that I teleported. With this clock I can stop time after throwing all of my knives, and go pick them up again to use. I can make a bamboo stalk flower instantly, and with this power, I can live forever. It is much more than pretending I can teleport."

I held out a hand and she shook it, and our fates were sealed. Sakuya became one of my best friends and my most loyal follower, from then until the end of time. I had her fitted for a maid's outfit immediately.


	9. Chapter 9

In only days Sakuya fell into her routine as if she had been living with us for years. Quickly she grew to be my most loyal friend, and more than once she put her life on the line to save me from an intruder. Not that it was necessary -- Flandre or I might have killed them easily, but Sakuya insisted that I had just had my bath or was about to retire for the day, and that fighting would dirty my clothes. I let her take care of any intruder she wanted to, because it was her job to serve me, and I felt it made her happy.

One problem, however, was my little sister. Flandre seemed to be growing more and more powerful, and more and more unstable. Sometimes she took to crying for me, and would do it for hours until I finally came to see her. No one else could calm her down, and even when I finally arrived, it would take ages until she would smile again.

She became more and more of a recluse. Instead of coming upstairs to her bedroom every morning to sleep, she would often rest in the vast basement of the mansion, amongst the cobwebs and dust. No amount of arguing could bring her back up to her room, so I gave up and let her stay in the dark, wet room she so loved. Eventually I pitied her and had fine wooden furniture made to go down there, along with a nice big bed for her to sleep on. Oftentimes she was found sleeping on the floor, however, but the bed was indeed there if she decided to change her mind.

It seemed my sister had a jealous streak to her. I spent most of my time in my room or accompanied by Sakuya, and one early evening when I was alone Flandre left the security of the basement to come knock on my door.

When I answered I found her clutching a headless teddy bear, dressed still in her nightclothes. She looked incredibly depressed, and so I sighed and pulled her into my room to sit with me on my bed.

"What's the matter?" I asked, yawning. I had just woken up as well. Flandre had no answer, so I continued, "Are you thirsty? I'll have Sakuya bring us some tea." I opened my mouth to call my head maid in, but Flandre stopped me:

"No," she said quickly.

"No?"

"I don't want her to come in here," she whined, averting her angry eyes from me and focusing them on the carpeted floor. "I don't like her."

I laughed despite myself: "Well why? She's nice to you, brings you toys and things to eat. Why not like her?"

"Just because," Flandre replied haughtily, holding her stuffed toy tighter to her chest. "She's bad."

"You're acting like a child," I chuckled, playfully nudging her arm. "Sakuya is a very good friend of mine. I won't have you being rude to her."

"Is she your best friend?"

I thought a moment and nodded. "I suppose she is. I haven't got many friends, you know."

Looking incredibly hurt, Flandre stood up and cried, "But we're best friends, Remi!"

Smiling softly, I said, "You're my sister, Flan. That's better than best friends."

Flandre let out a sigh, thinking, and finally looked placated. "Well," she began, gripping her teddy bear. "I still don't like that white-hair lady. Please don't let her bother me again." Without another word, my sister spun on her heels and exited my room.

Flandre's protectiveness of me seemed to grow over the next few years, as did her instability and her need for isolation. I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I had done more, or even tried to do more, to help her. But alas, I was forever a young woman, selfish, childish, and I allowed her to sit alone in the wet basement of my mansion while I lived in luxury above ground.

"How would my mistress like to go to the human village today?" Sakuya asked one day around noon, waking me up from what I remember today to be a lovely sleep.

I threw my pillow at her and yawned. "No one should have to be awake now, Sakuya. I'm so tired. You know what a big day yesterday was."

"Today will be bigger, Mistress," she assured me, forcing me out of bed and into a nice pink dress.

"I can dress myself, you know," I told her as she fastened a brooch onto the front of my neck.

"A maid's work is never done," she said simply, smiling and straightening up. She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off:

"How am I even to go out right now?" I asked incredulously. "It's broad daylight."

"I bought you something," Sakuya replied, turning and leaving my room. She returned a minute or so later carrying a long, thin box, wrapped in green paper. "Open it," she commanded. "It will give you a lot more freedom."

It was a parasol. A huge, light-pink parasol with a ribbon tied around its handle. I opened it up inside (to the Devil with superstitions) and twirled it, grinning. It was extremely wide, much wider than a normal parasol, and would be able to keep the sun away from me easily.

"I had it specially-made," Sakuya explained as I played with it. "You know I shop alone for food and things this mansion needs. It gets lonely, but none of the other maids are worth taking anywhere. I thought you might want to come along now and then, if you could stay awake for it."

The human village, a place I had only been to a few times, and always at night. I had never seen more than one or two people outside in my times there, and during a resting day where all the food stalls would be open, it would no-doubt be bustling with humans.

I must have hesitated too long, for Sakuya promised, "We'll buy whatever you want. I don't need to go out for anything in particular, so we'll just have a girl's day."

It was only getting better. Having grown up virtually without a mother, I had never had just a shopping day with just me and a friend. Twirling the parasol again, I told Sakuya I'd get my shoes on and we would leave immediately.

It was my first time outside during the daytime in years. Even with the parasol, I was sure to wear a long dress and stockings underneath, and a long-sleeved shirt and white gloves. It was a sunny day out, so it helped to be cautious. The parasol worked like a charm, however, and such measures might not have had to be taken. But I didn't care: it was a cool spring day, and the heavy clothes kept me warm anyway.

After a quick trip over the lake and through the youkai forest, we were there. The human village lived up to its name, and was indeed filled with humans, all shopping at the weekly market for anything one could ever want. It was a sight to behold, watching brightly-colored people run back and forth between stalls, checking prices, buying food and clothes, all while tugging their children or pets along and gossiping.

"How about some human food?" Sakuya asked me, taking my hand and leading me to the nearest stall.

I hadn't eaten human food, again, in years. Mostly for me it was blood, blood pudding, blood tea… blood, blood, blood. I was happy with my diet, but was also curious to see what I was missing. In London food was rich and filling, and I hoped that Gensokyo's food was the same way.

"This is fried tofu," Sakuya explained, holding out a napkin with little blocks of crispy tofu. "Very good for you, minus the fried part."

Without hesitation I snatched a small piece and plopped it into my mouth. It was delicious, slightly hardened and crunchy on the outside with a warm, gooey inside. It reminded me of the texture of fried blood, but with a much lighter taste. Sakuya and I divvied up the rest of the tofu and ate it before moving on to the next stall.

She ordered some little round things on sticks and handed one to me after paying the man behind the stall, saying, "Now I want you to try this first before I tell you what it is."

Smiling slyly, I asked, "Why? Is it something disgusting?"

"Just try it," she laughed.

I tried to take a small bite of the first fried ball, but it revealed itself to be very tough and hard to break off, so I took the whole thing into my mouth and chewed for what felt like a long time before finally swallowing.

"Rubbery?" Sakuya chuckled, eating hers as well.

"Mm-hmm," I hummed. Rubbery indeed, but very good. "What is it?" I asked before eating the second ball on my stick.

"Fried octopus balls!" she exclaimed, and I all but spit out what I had put in my mouth, making her laugh loudly.

Quickly regaining composure, I handed her what was left on my stick and she finished it for me.

After tasting more of the food Gensokyo had to offer, we went to shop for fun, little-girl things. We bought ribbons for our hair and sweets for my little sister; a big floppy hat and some tulip bulbs for the garden. I would have bought a tiny kitten we saw too, but Sakuya and I both knew that Flandre would make short work of it if we did.

Eventually we made it to a teahouse where I could set down the heavy parasol and rest my feet while Sakuya ordered a pot of chamomile tea and two dainty little cups for us. When she returned to our table she had also brought a tray of miniature cakes, one of which I quickly snatched and dropped into my mouth, savoring the taste.

I waited for her to pour us some tea and took the cup in one hand, but she stopped me.

"Wait," she said, holding up a finger. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a vial of blood. "I thought you might need this to keep you going."

Ignoring the stares of the humans around us, I thanked her and poured the vial into my tea. Stirring it in, I talked to Sakuya a little about my sister.

"Sakuya," I began before taking a sip of blood-tea. "I'm worried about Flandre."

"We all are, Mistress," she replied gravely, nodding. "She is upstairs less and less. She won't grow up properly if she doesn't spend time with others."

"She's never hunted on her own," I mused, sighing. "Maybe one of these days I will take her out at night and we'll find something to eat. I don't want to have her fed by maids forever. She'll grow tired of it soon and want to go out on her own, and I want her to be prepared for it."

Nodding again, Sakuya sipped from her tea and set down her cup. "Maybe we can start her out with live animals, let loose in the basement. Lord knows that room is big enough for them to roam around in, and she can catch whatever she can when she's hungry."

"I like the idea, except that animals are messy and smelly when pent up in a house."

"One animal at a time, then, and I'm sure Flandre will kill it before it makes too much of a mess."

It sounded fine to me, and after what felt like just a short time of talking, Sakuya announced that we had been away from home for three hours and that we must return. Grudgingly I took up my parasol again and left with her, though I would have preferred to stay there for days. I love my mansion like any girl loves her home, but it was such a lovely day that day that I didn't want to leave.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: This totally could have been like three chapters, so please excuse any… jumpiness from one thing to another. I wish I had broken it up, but then the chapters would be way too short.

ALSO, guess who totally can't write battle scenes? Meeeeee! *End AN*

I went up to my room to put away the things we had bought and was immediately scared half to death to find Flandre sitting on my bed in the dark, staring at me.

"Flan!" I cried, flipping on the light. "Flan, what -- what are you doing in here? I thought I locked this door."

"You did," she replied simply.

"Well…" I waited for her to say more, but she didn't. "Well why were you waiting for me? It's way past your bedtime."

"Did you have fun today?" she asked, ignoring my question. "With her?"

"Oh, Flan," I murmured, setting down my things and coming to hug her. She batted my hands away and stood up, nearing the things I had bought.

"This is a pretty hat," she said monotonously, putting the floppy hat on her head and turning to face me. I smiled weakly at her and she glared back, removing the hat. It caught fire in her hands and burned to nothing in seconds.

"Flandre Renee Scarlet!" I shouted furiously, approaching her. "Flan, why the hell would you --"

"Watch your language, Mistress," Sakuya ordered softly, walking in holding a tray of tea. "Cursing is unladylike."

Something changed in Flandre's eyes just then, upon seeing Sakuya. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was, but I knew -- I just knew -- it wasn't going to turn out well for any of us if I didn't act now.

"Sakuya," I hissed, sidling towards her while my eyes trained themselves on my sister. "I think you should leave. Now."

To this day I wish Sakuya would have obeyed me. Instead she chuckled and set down her tray of tea before approaching my sister.

"Do you think it is time for a nap, Mistress?" she asked Flandre, moving to grab her hand.

Flandre slapped Sakuya's hand away, murmuring, "Get away from me, old hag."

"Now, now," Sakuya said, smiling patiently. "Sleepiness is no excuse for rudeness. I'll have one of the other maids ready your bath for you and then you can take a nap." Straightening up, she turned to call for one of her fellow maids.

Time seemed to go slowly at that instant. Sakuya looked out into the hall for someone nearby, and while her back was turned, I saw Flandre lift a hand, a thirst for blood in her deadly expression. Without thinking, I dove in between Flandre and Sakuya, knowing the consequences but not fearing them. Sakuya could easily die by Flandre's hands, but I knew I wouldn't.

The next thing I remember is feeling a prick in my shoulder which immediately shot down my right arm. I remember screaming as this prick became a white-hot agony shooting through the very fibers of my shoulder, arm, and hand. I remember hitting the floor and just writhing, wanting to escape the pain, but nothing would do it. I was stuck there, feeling it, and would be stuck feeling it for the next several weeks.

Flandre was almost instantly on her knees, crying her apologies, but I could barely hear her. The last thing I remember before shutting my eyes was feeling Sakuya pick me up in her arms.

I woke up what felt like minutes later, but quickly realized it had been hours upon looking at Vladimir's old grandfather clock. I moved to sit up but groaned and fell back, feeling that same sharp pain shoot through my right arm. I looked down at it to find it covered in bloody bandages.

"Mistress?" came Sakuya's voice.

I turned and found her just entering my room. She set down a new tray of blood-tea and took up a cup, bringing it to me. She helped me to sit up and held the cup to my lips, allowing me to drink.

"I can do it myself," I said stubbornly, though we both knew I couldn't. Sakuya smiled but said nothing.

"Where is she?" I asked when I finished off the cup.

"I think, Mistress, in a way… in some way they did her in a little." Sakuya sighed, averting her eyes sadly. "She's in the basement now. Singing. Has been for hours."

Laying back down, I let out a sigh through my nose, thinking. "Sakuya," I whispered, staring at the ceiling.

"Yes?"

"Have her wings cut off."

Blinking, Sakuya asked, "Well, why? That won't do much good. She already walks everywhere."

"Vladimir once told me," I began, still not looking at her. "That there are five sources of power for a vampire. Eyes, brain, heart, hands, and wings. Get rid of all of them and you'll die, but get rid of one or two of them and your power will be lessened considerably."

"Many of us will die in the process, Mistress," Sakuya mused, looking concerned as she poured me another cup of tea.

I nodded gravely. "Best lose one or two now, rather than lose all of us if we allow her to continue on so strongly. I'm afraid, Sakuya. She grows more and more powerful each day, and she seems to have no sense of consequence. I think this is the best thing we could do for her."

Sakuya stood up and smoothed down her skirt, letting loose another sigh. She curtsied to me and bade me her farewell, and I was left to lay in the darkness.

It was early evening at that time, and I sighed. I was very tired from being up all day when I could have been sleeping, but now that I knew it was my time to be awake, I could not shut my eyes again. My brain buzzed in the heat of my room, musing, pondering, about anything that came to it. I wished Sakuya would come back and keep me company.

Maybe twenty-or-so minutes later I heard my sister screaming my name, shrieking that my maids were trying to hurt her. Squeezing my eyes shut, I turned onto my side on the bed and covered my ears, but to no avail. Her screams still penetrated. The next thing I heard was many pairs of footsteps rushing up the stairs towards my room, and then a loud thump and nothing. She must have fallen, or was caught and forced to the ground; either way, it made her scream louder for me.

I couldn't bear it anymore. Sealing away her wings was the smartest thing to do for all of us, but Flandre was, and still is, my sister, and I could not bear to hear her cry so for me, especially knowing that it was I who sealed her fate. Weakly I tumbled out of my bed and hobbled towards the door, when I heard a sickening crack.

Flandre's screams were cut short by it, and then suddenly, another crack. It made me nauseous just thinking about what it could have been, and tentatively I opened my door and peeked outside.

Sakuya was already there, just about to come and get me. She was covered in blood, and despite the situation I grew hungry. I definitely got my fill of blood later that evening, though, after my next discovery.

"Where is she?" I whispered breathlessly. I shook Sakuya's shoulders, crying, "Sakuya, where is she?!"

"The deed is done, Mistress," she replied simply, and she moved aside for me to get past her.

I fell to my knees before reaching the stairway, already sobbing. My sister lay mere feet away from me, about halfway up the stairs, unconscious and bleeding profusely. Standing above her were four or five maids, two of which held onto each of her broken wings, and upon seeing me they dropped Flandre's dead wings as if afraid I would punish them for doing as they were told. I dismissed all but Sakuya and returned to my sister.

"Here," Sakuya murmured, sitting beside me. She withdrew from the pocket of her apron a spool of bandages, and began wrapping the stumps on my sister's back which once held her wings. Smiling sadly, Sakuya whispered, "Believe it or not I cut myself sometimes, handling all these knives. It's always good to keep bandages with you."

I watched silently as Sakuya swathed Flandre's bloodied back, tears streaming down my cheeks. I had done this. Flandre wanted to kill Sakuya, yes, but she wanted it only out of childish jealousy. Perhaps she didn't even realize what her spell would have done to Sakuya. She had hurt me on accident, but I… I hurt her on purpose. My sins were, and always will be, greater than Flandre's.

When Sakuya finished, she turned Flandre onto her back and picked her up as if she weighed nothing. "Come with me, Mistress. We'll lay her down in her room." Without another word, she led me down into the dark basement.

Gently Sakuya set Flandre down onto the bed and covered her with a light blanket. She disappeared a moment and reappeared seconds later, holding a pitcher of blood. She set down the pitcher onto Flandre's bedside table, smiling a little.

"She'll be thirsty when she wakes," she explained, though she didn't need to. I nodded nonetheless.

We stood side-by-side for a long time, just gazing down at the little helpless body that was Flandre. She breathed steadily, but otherwise did not move. It would be hours before she would wake up again, but none of us knew that and so we waited diligently for her, filling the pitcher with fresh blood when the old had gone stale.

Suddenly Flandre stirred, but she didn't wake. I became scared: I couldn't face her, not after what I had done. I asked Sakuya to send down some maids to look after her. As for me, I went up to my room and just slept.

Days turned into weeks, and Flandre had not come up from the basement. This was normal, for the most part, except that I had assumed she would come up to say hello, or at least to kick and scream and ask where her wings had gone. But she didn't, and alas, I was afraid still to face her.

My maids (save for Sakuya, whom I had banned from going into the basement until I was sure Flandre would not try to attack her again) told me every day how my sister was doing. They only brought good news, which made me happy and sad all at once. I was glad that Flandre was doing well, but unhappy that she would not even see me. Not that I ever made an effort to see her, which I regret to this day.

I became more withdrawn, it seemed, to my room or the main foyer on occasion when I was expecting guests. Only Sakuya visited me now, but I was okay with it. She was mostly the only one I wanted to see, anyway. But one night while I walked along the balcony of my mansion, pensively staring at the stars, I suddenly felt restless. Most of my maids, Sakuya included, were asleep. But I wanted to do something.

Normally I would wake Sakuya and bring her with me to the sleeping human village, but that midnight I felt like exploring on my own. I think a part of me wanted to drink blood, though I knew Sakuya had filled me earlier, but that same part of me wanted to cause trouble. I wanted some excitement, I think.

It was a quick flight across the lake and forest to the human village. As expected no one was out, so I landed with a soft thump and began walking through the cobblestone streets, wondering what there was to do at a time like this. I figured that if I was lucky, Keine would at least be around for me to bother, but "no cigar," as Hong would put it. No one was out, indeed.

That restless part of me looking for a fight, I wandered until I found the schoolhouse. Keine would no-doubt be staying there, so I held out a hand to open the front door, smiling a little to myself.

"What are you doing?" came a soft voice from behind me.

I whirled around, surprised, to find a short young woman with long, violet hair. She was dressed only in her sleeping outfit, and tucked under one arm was a thick book. Her other hand was on her hips, and she glared at me.

"Nothing," I replied unconvincingly. I had nothing else to say.

The girl gave a slight 'humph' and turned, walking a short ways to a table placed on a nearby patio. She sat down before it and resumed her reading.

At the time I didn't know what she was, but it definitely wasn't human. A youkai? A demon? I later found out she was a witch, a very young one, but one that would live to be as old as me, perhaps older.

"How do you read in the darkness?" I asked, coming up behind her. Even as a vampire, I could not read well without light.

"I'm not bird-eyed like you," she replied curtly, turning a page.

"I'm not bird-eyed," I hissed, offended by the simple half-insult. "And how are you so calm? I could kill you, you know."

"That would cause trouble," she said, shrugging. "I'm a bit asthmatic, but I could beat you any day."

"Oh, could you?" I chuckled, lifting a hand. In my palm sparked a blue flame, and I showed it to her, expecting to frighten her. She was unmoved.

"I am the one-week wizard, master of the elements," she said monotonously, closing her book and standing up. "If we must do this, let's at least do it in the forest. I don't want to be a bother to the humans." Without another word, she kicked off into the sky and floated backwards, deep into the youkai forest.

When I found her again, she was reading another book and sitting on a tree stump. "What took you so long?" she asked when I landed.

Glaring, I replied, "You left so quickly I thought you were trying to escape me."

"Unfortunately for you, you have found me." She stood up again and dusted off her nightgown. "Well, let's fight. Would you like to start?"

Unused to this more-polite version of battle, I shrugged. After taking a few steps backwards and heaving a long sigh, I cried, "Heaven's Punishment: Star of David!"

This was a favorite of mine, I admit. An array of lasers shot out from my fingers and zoomed through the air at the witch. She dodged them easily, and, suddenly angry, I shouted, "Dark Sign: Scarlet Netherworld!" This had to get her: the blazing knives would mesmerize and confuse her, making her unable to move away.

All of the knives hit at once, causing a small windstorm and a puff of smoke that I couldn't see through. I waited, grinning, for the smoke to part and for the witch's body to fall. I heard no thump of a corpse and stopped grinning: the smoke dissipated, and the witch stood in the middle of it, unharmed. To make matters worse, she had opened her book and was reading.

I was more angry then than I had been in a long time. I gave a cruel smile and raised my hands, about to use another favorite -- Divine Punishment: Young Demon Lord. But before I could even open my mouth, I heard my enemy shriek,

"Metal and Water Sign: Mercury Poison!"

Out of nowhere came a tidal wave, taller than most of the trees around us, and shining silver like the moon that night. At this point I realized that she did not know I was a vampire, and that no poison would affect me, but nonetheless it still hurt like hell to be struck to the ground with gallons and gallons of quicksilver. I'm sure I nearly drowned in it, but upon being given a split second of air, I cried out a Hell Sign spell and the mercury around me vaporized.

"Scarlet Gensokyo!" I screeched, throwing myself at her. This was my purest undulating magic, and it would surely kill her.

The girl, however, jumped into the air and out of the way of my attack. Not wasting a moment, I kicked up into the sky and zipped after her, hell-bent on killing this little peasant who had dared try to best me.

Eventually I caught up with her and grabbed her ankle before throwing her to the ground. While she still fell, I shot another bright-red knife at her, knowing she would be unable to block or dodge it while falling.

Finally I had hit her. The knife plunged itself into her stomach just before she touched the ground, and she fell onto her side and vomited blood. I landed daintily before her and laughed, coming to kick her in the back.

Just before I made it to her, she disappeared into thin air. I stood there a few minutes, awaiting her return, but nothing happened. Figuring myself the victor, I leapt into the sky and flew back home for some tea.


	11. Chapter 11

"Mistress," Sakuya said softly, entering my room and curtsying. "You have a visitor."

Sighing, I closed my new romance novel and set it down on the table before standing up to smooth down my dress.

"You know it's unladylike to sit all curled up like that," Sakuya teased as I walked past her. I playfully pushed her out of my way and she laughed, following me down the hall.

From the upstairs balcony, I found that same one-week wizard standing down in my foyer, talking to some red-haired demon she must have brought with her. Wanting to make somewhat of an entrance, I jumped over the railing of the balcony and floated lightly to the ground.

"I thought you'd died," I announced, making the witch and her servant turn to face me. "It's been weeks."

"Unlike you, vampire," she said politely, approaching me and curtsying. "Normal people take weeks like that to heal up."

"So what brings you here?" I asked, wanting to get done with the whole conversation so I could return to my book.

"I," she began, motioning to herself. "Patchouli Knowledge, would like to pledge my allegiance to you, Mistress Scarlet." She gave another curtsy and I laughed.

"What makes you think I would accept you after attacking me back then?"

"You challenged me, if you remember."

"No, Miss Patchouli, you're the one who said you could beat me any day!"

"Let's agree to disagree."

"Fine." Smirking a little, I held out a hand and she shook it. "You will work for me, now. What are your skills? What have you to offer?"

"You must admit, Mistress, that I can fight despite my illnesses," Patchouli smiled, withdrawing her hand. "I will fight off any intruders who come past your other guards, and furthermore," she said, holding out both hands, palm up. Out of thin air appeared a long, deep-purple staff with a crystal on one end, which landed into her hands. Patchouli twirled the staff and held it out for me to take.

I took it without thinking and examined it. "This feels powerful," I mused, stroking the fine crystal. It almost burned at my touch, and I grinned. "Where did you get it?"

"Its name is Gungir," she replied mildly, motioning to it as if it were any old thing. "It's a handy little tool that always hits its mark. It's been passed down from hundreds of owners, and finally onto me, who presents you with it. Please accept it, and my surrender to you."

Holding Gungir to my side, I nodded and opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off:

"I only require one thing," she said, holding up her index finger.

I laughed loudly: "Aren't you a cheeky thing, asking me for favors! With Gungir now, I could just --"

Patchouli snapped her fingers and in that instant, Gungir disappeared from my hands and reappeared in hers.

"You were saying?" she asked, giggling girlishly.

I laughed, both at her bravery and good humor, and asked, "Okay, fine. What do you require of me?"

"I must live with my servant, Koakuma, in your library. I don't take up much room, and I will keep the dust off your books while reading them, myself. Do we have a deal?"

"Ah," I tested her. "Who says I even have a library?"

"Well," she chuckled. "Your maids here say you have quite the affinity for romance novels. As it turns out, I have the same love, and I also know where the best bookstores in Gensokyo are located."

Smiling at my new friend, I nodded: "Fine, then, stay in my library with your servant, but know you are also my servant. As I said, in the event that this mansion is under attack, you are to help me and the rest of my servants fight to protect it."

"I think we have a deal," Patchouli said, curtsying one last time.

Patchouli fit perfectly into her new home. Often I found myself taking tea with her on the balcony at night, sharing stories or recommending books. She fought well whenever our fine island was met with hostile intruders, and I provided her with medicine for her asthma. I felt we and Sakuya were the perfect team.

"I have a suggestion," Patchouli said one day upon seeing me enter my library.

"Yes?" I asked before sitting down at her table and opening my new book. It was my turn to read it -- she had just finished reading it and said it was very good. So far it was.

"People still attack this island," she noted, sitting before me. Koakuma brought us some tea and bowed before disappearing again. "I think I may have a way to remedy this. Or make it worse. Either way, it could be fun."

I laughed: "And what, pray tell, would either remedy this or make it worse?"

"I think you should hold grand parties!" she announced, smiling weakly. "All the rich people of Gensokyo have parties with only the rich people of Gensokyo invited! You'll show off how restrained and ladylike you are, and they will know that you pose little threat to them. You mostly only drink from Sakuya anyway, so mention that and people may be less likely to try and harm us."

"How might this make things worse?" I asked, thinking hard about this idea.

"Well, inviting people into our house may cause trouble. What if the little sister gets out?"

"If we must, we'll lock her down there," I said jokingly.

"That sounds good," Patchouli replied, nodding sagely.

I was surprised that she took such a joke seriously, but nodded with her to save face. "I'll ask her to just stay down there for an evening. I'm sure she'll comply."

Patchouli agreed and we continued our tea time.


	12. Chapter 12

I made invitations for the dinner party and had them sent out immediately to only the highest humans and youkai in Gensokyo. I didn't know much about who would come, so I asked Patchouli to find the guests for me. The invitations would be sent out during the day anyway, so having my non-vampiric friend do this job for me was best.

Father used to have parties back in London for his business friends, inviting doctors and lawyers and fair ladies to eat and drink with him, but I was far too young to partake in any of it. Now that I was older (and the Mistress of my own mansion), I would do whatever I wished to set up this party. Sakuya mentioned how strange it was for me to be helping, as a normal Lady would have her servants do all the world, but I wouldn't have it. I love decorating and planning events.

The main dining room, used mostly by the maids and occasionally Hong, was messy and ill-fit for a dinner party. I helped dust and clean stains from the carpeting, got rid of cobwebs in the corners and shined up the best dinnerware. Soon the entire room was ready for guests, and I brought my favorite armchair from my bedroom down to settle at the head of the table, where I would sit. Everything was perfect and ready for the party that was to be the next evening.

At around six at night I awoke and prepared myself for the guests. I took my time: everyone knew that a proper lady showed up late. As I brushed my hair I heard Sakuya letting in some of the earlier guests and smiled: tonight was going to be wonderful. I decided to go against the rules of being fashionably late and rushed downstairs to meet them.

It was just Hong. My hands on my hips, I cried indignantly, "China, go back outside to greet the guests."

Hong shrugged. "Sakuya's already greeting them. Why do I gotta do it too?"

"Because I said so!" I sighed, placing a palm to my forehead. "Please, just go. Please?"

Hong cursed and turned to leave, and as she walked out the door Keine entered.

"I hear there's a party going on tonight," she said, looking around my mansion's foyer. "Nice place. It was terrible last time I'd seen it."

"I want to show the world I'm not a threat unless I've been threatened, myself," I explained, and then I motioned to the dining room. "Please sit and we will serve you once the other guests arrive."

"Let me guess: blood pudding for dinner?"

"For me, anyhow," I chuckled amiably. "Sakuya is kind enough to lend me some of her blood. I don't eat much, so she always makes it out just fine. As for what you and the others will be served… it's a secret. But you'll love it. Sakuya's a good cook!"

Looking placated, Keine consented to being seated at the large dining table and I stood out in the foyer awaiting Patchouli and whoever else she had invited.

The dining room was soon full of guests. Keine was the only one I knew, but there was a woman named Mokou as well as a group of friends who went by the names of Kaguya, Eirin, Reisen and their pet named Tewi, who was also given a seat at my table. The others were "regular people," as Patchouli called them, and were invited to show that vampires were not as threatening as the legends said. There were also a lot of people from the human village, but I greeted them as if they were equals.

I had them all served food I had known from my native England. I of course ate blood pudding and blood tea, but my beloved guests were all served the finest beef, hearty mashed potatoes and greens. They eyed the western-style food suspiciously, but a girl named Yuyuko dug right in and said it was wonderful, which prompted everyone else to eat. I watched them all, happier than I had been in ages.

"Big sister!" came a sudden cry.

"Flan!" I called, standing up immediately. My guests were surprised at my sudden alarm, and I chuckled and pointed to the closed door leading into the foyer, explaining, "Ah, my sister! She's been a little ill, so she was told to stay in her room. I guess she's feeling better!… Be right back!"

I found Flandre skipping through the foyer, followed by several fairy maids who unsuccessfully chased after her. One maid was already dead, and I thanked her inwardly for at least dying silently.

"Flan!" I hissed, easily catching her. I shook her shoulders, whispering, "Flan, I told you to stay in the basement! I -- we -- we're having a very important business meeting! It's very boring and you wouldn't like it!"

At that moment someone burst out laughing in the other room, and Flandre looked at the closed door wistfully.

"Sounds like it's fun," she said simply, shaking me off of her.

"Flan," I continued. "I mean it. Please go back into the basement and -- What is that??"

She held up a long, wrought-iron, gnarled staff with what looked like a spade on its head. "I found it in the basement! It makes things go 'kaboom' too!" To show me she pointed it at a nearby grandfather clock and decimated it.

At the loud noise Sakuya came in from the dining room and came to whisper in my ear, "I've explained to them what we're dealing with. I had to lie a little to prevent any fights."

I nodded but said nothing, eyes trained on my sister.

"Mistress, we are serving dessert now to keep things calm. Forgive me for serving them without you. But please restrain your sister." Without leaving room for me to ask for help, she was off to serve my guests some chocolate cake. My stomach rumbled: blood pudding wasn't very filling, and chocolate cake sounded very good, especially since I knew that Sakuya had baked a second cake just for me and my sister, this one with blood in it. Just then a thought struck me:

"Flan!" I cried, taking her shoulders again. "Flan, will you go with me downstairs? Sakuya has baked us a lovely chocolate-and-blood cake. I know how you like chocolate!"

Throwing her arms, and her staff, into the air, Flandre exclaimed, "Chocolate cake times! Are you for serious, big sister? Real cake? I haven't had cake since we were back home!"

I kindly ushered her towards the door to the basement. "Yes, real cake, little sis! Now go clear off a table downstairs to put it on. I'll eat with you!"

Fortunately she complied and went down into the basement, singing, and I rushed into the kitchen looking for Sakuya.

I found her icing the cake and whispered, "Sakuya, where is the blood cake?"

"Here, Mistress," she said, nodding to her cake. "I already served the guests their cake. This is yours. I assumed you would use it against your sister so I started icing it."

"Very good. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to spend the rest of this evening in the basement with her. I'm afraid of angering her by leaving."

She nodded. "You'd better tell your guests this and apologize. This dinner is very important." Suddenly she kissed her finger and touched it to my forehead. "Good luck."

Hurrying into the dining room, I found my guests looking anxious, no doubt wondering about my absence. They looked slightly happier to see me return, not covered in blood or whatever they expected, and I raised my glass of blood to them.

"A toast to all of you!" I cried to them, and they raised their cups of sake. "For trusting me enough to come here. I'm afraid, friends, that I cannot stay the rest of this evening with you. My sister, ah… my sister needs me. Please excuse me." I went back into the foyer without listening to their replies and immediately down into the basement.

Flandre was still singing when I found her, twirling her staff. I gritted my teeth: that staff belonged to Vladimir, which meant it belonged to me now. But I knew the consequences of trying to take it, and forced a smile: "Hello, little sister! Sakuya will bring us the cake any moment now."

"Cake, cake!" Flandre sang, jumping as she danced.

"Yes, cake!" I cooed, as if she were a baby. "And -- oh, I think I hear her coming now!"

Indeed Sakuya showed up behind us, carrying the large chocolate-and-blood cake. She had put candles into it for an extra treat for Flandre, who always enjoyed birthday parties. I don't know if it was anyone's birthday that day, but nonetheless it made her happier still.

Sakuya cut me a piece and I waited for my sister to receive her piece to start eating. Before Sakuya got her knife into the cake again, Flandre reached down with her bare fingers and tore off a large chunk before forcing it into her mouth and humming pleasantly. Sakuya's jaw dropped a little with disgust, and I quietly excused her to take care of the guests.

"Is it good?" I asked after taking a few bites of my own slice of cake.

Flandre nodded and took another chunk out of the side. "It is lovely!" she cried, bouncing in her seat on the bloodied sofa. "I love it, I love it! We should have cake more often!"

"Maybe we will!" I agreed to please her. "Just ask nicely and be good, and the cake fairy will come to make you happy!"

"Really, big sister?" she asked, eyes huge. "A whole fairy just for cakes?"

"Y-yes! A whole fairy, governing only cakes and other sweets!" I decided to make it into a story. Maybe the sugar would hype her up, but perhaps a story would calm her back down again. "Her name is Yume, which means dream. Yume the cake fairy was born from the mother of all fairies, Yousei the Great One."

"What do they look like?" she asked dreamily, settling down quickly.

"The Great One dresses all in gossamer, and wears a flower on her head. First fairies were only for nature, but they quickly realized they would have to govern other things as well. And thus the cake fairy was born out of a chocolate-chip cookie, off to make children happy everywhere."

"Wow!" Flandre gasped, clapping her chocolaty hands together. "Will I meet her someday?"

"S-sure!" I said without thinking. I quickly realized what a bad idea it was and said, "Well, let's hope, anyway! She's highly elusive, only showing up for the very BEST children! Will you be good so she'll show up?"

"I will be good, big sister! I will, I promise!"

"Very good!" I cried, slapping my hand against hers. "Now finish your cake. I need to go upstairs and say goodbye to my business guests."

Flandre complied and finally I was given permission to leave.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: D'aaah, more crap from me. I apologize profusely for those of you who have waited, and are receiving such a disappointment.

No plot here, just filler… tried to make it somewhat amusing.

Sucks: I know how this will end, but not how to get there. Root for me?

END AN.

It certainly wasn't my last party, but it was the last party I had with Flandre in the house. My parties were always at night, so I would send my little sister outside to play with Cirno and Rumia, and sometimes Hong. I felt happy about this: finally my baby sister would have some friends.

One evening around midnight I sat down in the hot water of my bathtub and sighed thoughtfully, eyes closed. I smiled a little, hearing Flandre shriek playfully with Cirno and Rumia outside and went to stand up on the edge of the tub so I could reach the window and look out at them. They were apparently playing hide-and-seek, as the fairies and Rumia were gone (though I saw one hiding unsuccessfully in a tree) and my sister had her eyes shut and was counting loudly.

Without warning tears came to my eyes, and it was awhile before I realized why. Looking down at Flandre that evening was like looking at my own mother so many decades before. They had the same light blonde hair, the same cheerful demeanor… Flandre looked so much like her that I shut the window and lowered my head, sobbing silently.

"Mistress?" came a sudden voice.

I whirled around and was met with Sakuya, who stood before the closed door of the bathroom holding a basket of clean towels. Remembering that I had been bathing, I dove down into the safety of the soapy water and sunk until it was up to my nose.

Sakuya only laughed. "It's nothing I haven't seen, Mistress," she told me, turning and setting down the basket of towels. She took one up at a time, folded them, and tucked them away into the shelf by the door. While she worked, she asked gently, "Why were you upset, Mistress?"

I glared at her despite her kindness. "None of your business."

"Very well, Mistress."

I was almost hurt that she wouldn't press any further, but I knew that it was I who told her off. I sat silently in the water until she finished folding the towels, just watching her, until she turned to look at me.

She laughed again: "You have suds in your hair."

Out of embarrassment that she was still looking at me I sunk further into the water, glaring.

Wordlessly she went to sit on the edge of the tub and rolled up her sleeves.

"What are you doing?" I asked sharply, backing away from her until my back met the opposite side of the tub.

"Washing your hair properly," she informed me, filling her cupped hands with water and moving to release it over my head.

I moved away stubbornly and sat up, hands on my hips. "Sakuya, not only did you not even knock, you're now trying to bathe me! I'm perfectly capable of bathing myself and it's a little creepy as we -" I looked down at my own exposed chest and sank back into the safety of the bubbly water.

Sakuya laughed loudly at me and I hmphed, averting my eyes as my arms covered my chest underwater. Unable to escape, I allowed her to wash the soap out of my hair and waited for her to leave. She didn't leave.

Instead, she stood up and took up one of the clean white towels, holding it open. "Okay, c'mon then," she said simply.

"N-no!" I cried indignantly. "I'm not getting out of here until you leave!"

"Oh, please," Sakuya assured me. "After seeing China's naked ass that time she got drunk, I'm not going to make fun of you."

I remembered that day. It was odd.

Nonetheless I curled my knees up to my chest and sat there stubbornly. "Go away, Sakuya. I mean it."

I blinked and the water of the bathtub was completely drained. I looked up at Sakuya questioningly: in one hand she held her pocket watch, smiling. I felt my muscles move to glare at her, but before I knew it, I found myself standing outside the tub with the towel wrapped around me. Sakuya twirled the pocket watch on its chain, looking smug.

"I -" I began, dumbfounded. "I-I can't believe you just did that!" I clutched the towel around me, feeling almost violated. "You're - you're not supposed to move people when you stop time! Especially not your mistress!"

"Mm," Sakuya hummed, seeming to think. "Well you were being difficult, my Lady."

"Th-that's no reason to practically -" I thought hard for a good word. "…defile my - my personal bubble! How dare you! I could kill you for this."

She chuckled, shrugging. "As you wish, Mistress." Silently she knelt on one knee and lowered her head, awaiting death.

I could only sigh. "Get up. Don't be a drama queen."

"I could say the same to you," she joked, doing as told and smoothing down her dress. Moving aside, she put one hand on my shoulder and ushered me into my bedroom.

"Seriously though, I mean it," I told her as we walked to my wardrobe. "Don't do that ever again to me."

"Very well, Mistress," she said docilely, opening the large wardrobe (I checked, there was never a lion nor a witch in it - disappointment) and rifling around for my next outfit. While she wasn't looking I dressed into my undergarments so I was at least semi-decent when she turned around again.

When she found a light pink gown for me she moved as if about to try and dress me. Grumbling I took the outfit from her and dressed myself, mostly to spite her, and she smiled, probably to spite me.

We stared silently at each other for what felt like a long time, both of us trying to think of something to do to annoy each other (well, that's what I was doing, anyway…), before she curtsied, disappearing where she stood.

Request - Remilia/Sakuya

"Sakuya?" Remilia asked one day over her book.

On cue, the head maid Sakuya appeared before her mistress and curtsied. "Yes, My Lady?" she replied, pouring Remilia another cup of candied blood tea.

"You told me once you would like to become a vampire," Remilia stated, still not looking at her servant.

Sakuya said nothing, staring intently at her mistress through dark blue eyes.

"Why is that?" Remilia continued when she realized Sakuya would not speak. "Why would you want to become a vampire?"

Knowing the right answer, Sakuya curtsied again and said, "So I could serve you forever, Mistress."

Remilia chuckled. "Good answer. I ask this because I was thinking of turning Patchouli into a vampire."

"Why is that? She's already ageless."

"True, but it would help her dwindling health, wouldn't it? I don't want her getting sick again on us. I admit I was scared last time she came down with the flu."

Sakuya smiled softly. "She won't die, Mistress. She may be weak, but she's far too stubborn to die. I, however, am only human - if anything, you should convert me. I would indeed


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Finally we're getting somewhere. END AN.

I walked downstairs one day around noon when I could not sleep. I sighed immediately: the front door was open.

As if reading my thoughts, Sakuya appeared behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's a hot summer this year, Mistress. The other maids were baking in this heat. At least now cool air gets in."

"It's a deathtrap!" I cried, cranky from lack-of-sleep. "I could have walked into that happy ray of sunshine and ended up a heap of ash! And wouldn't you feel silly then!" I folded my arms across my chest childishly, sighing.

Sakuya in turn nodded to Hong, who sat in the doorway in the midst of the cool air, to shut the door. The gatekeeper cursed and shut the door, staying outside.

"And why isn't she guarding the front gate?" I snapped, motioning widely to the doorway where Hong once sat.

"No one would try to break in through this heat," Sakuya said softly, already wiping new sweat from her forehead. "Aren't you hot?"

"Boiling!" I cried angrily. "I couldn't sleep because of it! But how hot do you think I'd be if the sun hit me? Huh?"

"Maybe Cirno would work up some snow for us to eat," Sakuya mused, not listening to me. She turned to face me and smiled: "I'd put cold blood in yours. It'd be like a snow cone, but blood-flavored!"

I nodded haughtily, not saying anything, and Sakuya went to open the front door again.

"China," she said, sticking her head out the door so not much sunlight would get in. "Will you get Cirno for us?"

"Sure thing," Hong replied. Suddenly she stood up and screeched, "HEY, CIRNO!"

"I mean GO and get her!" Sakuya sighed, brandishing a knife.

Cirno must have been nearby, for she heard Hong's cry for her and was quickly on our front step.

"Why move in this heat when you could just scream for someone?" Hong asked, sitting back down and settling her hat over her eyes for a nap.

Cirno just saluted to me, walking inside and wiping her muddy feet on my clean carpet. "Strongest Ice Fairy reporting, sir - er, ma'am! 'Scuse me!" She shut the door behind her, at least.

"Would you make us some ice crystals, Cirno?" Sakuya asked sweetly, placing a hand on the fairy's shoulder.

Cirno flinched, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "O-oh… Why you put me on the spot! This is so sudden!"

"Just do it," I said bitterly, fanning myself with my hat.

"N-no, I mean - Lady, it's too hot out. I tried freezing the lake earlier but none of it would stick."

"Well that's a whole lake!" I cried, frustrated. "Try freezing a bucket of water or something! Anything! I'm thirsty for something cold."

On cue, a maid glided into the foyer, carrying a bucket of lukewarm water. She set it down before Cirno, curtsied, and flew back into the kitchen.

Cirno gazed down at the bucket of water uncertainly, humming. "Can't you get Dai to do this? She's dispensable if she messes up!"

"Is Dai an ice fairy?" I asked, my head beginning to hurt.

"…No." Cirno sighed heavily and knelt down before the bucket. She put one hand in the water and played a little. Ice crystals formed around her fingers but almost immediately melted. Sighing again, Cirno stood up and hung her head apologetically.

"Big sister!" came the voice of my sister, and the slam of the basement door. "Numbah nine!" she cried upon seeing Cirno. They grasped at each other's hands and jumped around as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Numbah nine, usually I come to you!" Flandre exclaimed, still jumping.

"I'm on a mission, Flan-chan!" Cirno shouted to the world, saluting again. "I must make ice for everyone to feast on!"

"Is that what the bucket's for?" Flandre asked, eyeing the bucket of water still on the floor. "Oh Remi, I - can I - Oh, but you'll say no!"

"Then don't do it, whatever it is," I told her, rubbing my forehead.

"Oh, you've officially told me no," Flandre said, disappointed.

Cirno patted her back. "Do it anyway! She won't kill you!"

"No!" I burst. "Whatever it is, no!"

"Good plan!" my sister cried, ignoring me and throwing her arms in the air. With her movement, the water flew up out of the bucket as if Flandre had thrown it herself. "Kyuuu!" she sang, and the water split into a million drops and rained down onto us.

"Flan!" I screeched, shielding myself unsuccessfully from the now-boiling water. "Flan, why - why would you - Flan, go to your room!"

"How did it get so hot?" Sakuya asked, taking a handkerchief and drying the water from my face and hair.

"She kyuuu'd it or something," I explained, watching bitterly as Flandre and Cirno danced around the foyer. "Part of her destroying things involves massive heat. I'm surprised the water didn't just vaporize." I let out a long sigh and went to grab my sister's arm, stopping her. "Flan, why aren't you in bed? It's past noon."

"I couldn't sleep!" she informed me happily. "Also, um - Remi - can I have some ice cream? It's hot in here."

"Yes me too!" Cirno shouted to the heavens. "Can I has ice cream now please?"

"Both of you: no. It melted and it's all your fault."

"Mistress, that was mean," Sakuya chuckled. She ushered Cirno and Flandre into the kitchen, murmuring soothingly, "I'm sure they have something you two would like."

"Your sister's mean!" Cirno said as they walked into the other room.

"Yeah, I know!" Flan agreed, and she shut the door behind them.

It took all my strength not to send a few flaming knives their way. "Ungrateful little -"

"Watch yourself," Sakuya warned me, pushing me gently up the stairs towards my room. "C'mon now. It's late for you."

I thought long and hard about what would make the world a nicer place as Sakuya led me up to my room to try and sleep again. In this heat barely anything could get done, and the sun outside was practically a death trap. I hummed a little and laid down on top of the bedcovers, in only a thin slip and not caring this time whether Sakuya saw me.

"Sakuya," I asked her before she left my room.

She turned and came to sit on the edge of my bed. "Yes, Mistress?"

"How powerful am I?"

She knew the right answer: "More powerful than anyone else in Gensokyo!"

I knew it wasn't true, but I liked hearing it. Nonetheless: "Do you think there's anything I can do to make the days here better?"

"Better how?"

"I dunno. Like… something to blot out the sun a little. It'd be so much cooler and nicer, and then I could walk outside and not be burned."

"Like a mist?" she asked, and the proverbial light bulb went off in my mind.

"A red mist - a Scarlet mist!" I cried suddenly, sitting up. "I - I could - Somehow I'll make a dark red mist come over all of Gensokyo. I'll be invincible in it, Sakuya! I can walk around outside during the day, without having to hold up that big old parasol and without having to dress so heavily. It'll be nice and cool out and work can actually get done in the summer. What do you think?"

"It'll take some work," she told me, and I agreed. "I don't know how you'll do it, but whatever happens, I will help. But for now, sleep. Tonight we'll think more on this." Before I stopped her she leaned forward and kissed my forehead goodnight.


End file.
